The Pebble smart watch set the wearable-tech space on fire when it broke all previous records to become the biggest-ever Kickstarter surprise earlier this year. But it wasn’t its fundraising ability that prompted a few of us on the Pocketnow team to pre-order one; it was the promise of a smart watch that was actually, you know … smart. That’s a promise that the Pebble delivered on when it arrived at our doorstep last spring, and we’ve been enjoying our little wrist-borne mobile companions ever since.

But the folks behind Pebble aren’t the only ones trying to make a name for themselves in the wearable computing game. In addition to the handful of smaller competitors sprouting up across Kickstarter and Indiegogo, and the somewhatforgettable efforts from larger companies, a mammoth new contender has just belly-flopped into the smartwatch pool.

Samsung’s Galaxy Gear is the boldest, most feature-packed, and best-marketed smart watch the world has yet seen. Resembling a miniaturized smartphone more than an oversized watch (and with a price tag to match), the Gear certainly isn’t for everyone. But its potential-packed feature set has prompted us to spring to its defense in the face of lukewarm reviews, and Samsung’s decision to market it as a companion to the well-regarded Galaxy Note 3 means it’s easily the most visible smart watch in the US for the time being.

That puts the Galaxy Gear squarely up against the Pebble in the battle for consumers’ wrists. As these two watches will soon be sharing shelf space in stores across the land this holiday season, we thought we’d take you on a tour of the (few) similarities and (many) disparities between them. So buckle your wrist-straps in tight; it’s Galaxy Gear vs Pebble Smartwatch time – and unlike our IFA video, this ain’t no show-floor comparison. You’ll wanna pay close attention to this deep-dive if you plan on asking Santa for the right piece of future-tech this year. And be sure to stay tuned for more Galaxy Gear coverage, continuing all through this week!